Fifteen Minutes of Fame

Photo credit to Mohamed Mambo from the Daily News. Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa, the Minister for Education and Vocational Training, admiring the pin I wore when I was officially sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

The past week has triggered a whirlwind of emotions.  There are so many things that I could write about – my beautiful home and school in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro, my witty students, and the
beginnings of my new garden – but for now, I’ll focus on first things first.

On Wednesday, September 17, my class of sixty-one volunteers filed neatly into the American Embassy in Dar es Salaam.  We looked like a completely new group – pressed suits and fancy patterned dresses, moustaches clipped away and sparkling tresses.  Standing up to lead the national anthems (and landing in a gigantic photo in the national newspaper the following day), I felt tangible ripples of pride fall across the crowd.  It really did feel like the people of two nations were coming together, beginning a partnership that would last two years, and would relationships that will last a lifetime.  The day was exuberantly bright, and red, white and blue draped tents cloaked all of our guests.  The table of honor seated Mark Childress, the American ambassador to Tanzania, Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa, the Tanzanian Minister of Education, and Dr. Elizabeth O’Malley, our own Peace Corps Tanzania Director.  My class performed the “cups” song from Pitch Perfect – re-written to describe our experiences in Tanzania so far, with singing, dancing, and hand-made props.  Two members of our class delivered an eloquent and articulate speech – in both English and Kiswahili – much to the delight of the Tanzanians in the audience.

Close to the end of the ceremony, we took an oath, led by the ambassador, that officially confirmed us as Peace Corps Volunteers. After all the speeches and festivities, I think that all the volunteers felt for the first time that we were on the brink of change; about to depart on a once-in-a-lifetime journey.

A reporter from the Daily News, Tanzania’s English newspaper, began talking to me extensively early in the ceremony, and seemed to be snapping photos of me wherever I looked.  At one point, he raced me over to the Minister of Education, Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa, and took dozens of photos as I introduced myself.  The reporter told me that he wanted to write an article about women in science, and I agreed to answer a few of his questions.  I expected a small mention in an article about the newest Peace Corps Volunteers, but the article that came out today was anything but.  This afternoon, I got a message saying that my photo was on the front page of “Woman” Magazine, the insert to the Daily News.  The article, entitled, “Carol Noronha: Determined to help schoolgirls excel in science,” apparently, filled two pages worth of my interview and photos.  My village is far away from a town where I can buy the newspaper, but here is the online version if you’d like to see:

http://touch.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/features/36393-carol-noronha-determined-to-help-schoolgirls-excel-in-science

It is said that everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame – and mine came on a really momentous day.  It was the beginning of a journey; often called the “toughest job you’ll ever love.”  I expect this to be one of the most fulfilling as well as challenging, often comical, and altogether crazy experiences of my life.  Still, the best part will be embracing the parts that I cannot foresee.  Thank you for riding the roller coaster with me – and for sharing in this journey.

Brief Zawadi

Since it is 4:12 am, and I have been unable to sleep tonight for a variety of reasons, here is a quick post about my experiences visiting my future site this week, and an explanation of why my situation has changed since last week.

Site visits are an eagerly anticipated week of Peace Corps training.  It was a long break from the busy schedule and host of rules and regulations that trainees cope with in Korogwe, our training site.  Along with a group of approximately 20 trainees traveling to nearby regions, we began our journey to our future sites.  Our route took us through Moshi, a town in Kilimanjaro inhabited by many foreigners and ex-pats.  Thus, we enjoyed plenty of creature comforts for a night before heading to our villages.

On the way, we passed Lake Manyara National Park.  I saw baboons, giraffes, and herds of cattle, flanked by brightly decorated Masai herders, resting at watering holes.  Most of the scenes seemed straight out of the Lion King, the childhood favorite of my generation.

Before spending some time at my own school, I had the opportunity to visit a Peace Corps Volunteer’s current site.  His name is Charles, and he has been in service for two and a half years, teaching Advanced-level Biology for girls at Florian Secondary School.  Charles plans on extending his service for the next year and a half.  I had a wonderful time working with his students, because it is truly inspiring for me to work with women on the path to achievement in Tanzania.  In this country, there are many barriers that prevent most students, especially females, from passing all of their exams in the Ordinary Level and moving on to the Advanced Level.  So, Charles’ students are empowered and intelligent young women, most exactly my age.  They are thoughtful students, and ask questions that are beyond even my reach.

After a few days at Florian, the two other trainees in Karatu and myself headed to our own sites.  We managed to squeeze onto a crowded bus and meet many of the nearby villagers in the process.  I sat crammed between the driver’s incessantly scorching gear box and an old Masai man who asked me many questions in surprisingly clear Kiswahili (many Masai do not speak Kiswahili at all!)

My village, Kainam, is in the Rhotia ward of a town called Karatu.  This is why the school is called Kainam Rhotia Secondary School.  I was lucky to be able to meet my head of school (a woman!) in town, and we traveled to the village together in her friends’ car.  I spent two nights at site, but they were far different than I anticipated.

As soon as I arrived at the school, the teachers called an assembly so I could meet all of my students.  They were fewer in number than I expected, and seemed to be mostly female.  Altogether, there were only about 100 students, more reserved and somber than the friendly students of the Tanga region that I have become accustomed to.  Afterwards, I was led to my new home by Zawadi (meaning “gift” in Kiswahili), my counterpart teacher.  It is a small home, with a living room and bedroom, with an outdoor toilet and bathing area attached by a courtyard.  While the house does not have running water or electricity, it came fully furnished and outfitted with many of the belongings of the previous volunteer, who had left just a month ago.  It seemed like a home even before I set my bag down.

A half-dozen students entered my home and helped me to clean it.  The carefully scrubbed each room, every dish in sight, and dozens of buckets that littered the courtyard.  I made conversation with a few of them, but was a little surprised with their reserved nature compared to the students in Korogwe.  However, I started feeling very sick within an hour or so of being in my new home.  I had a case of food poisoning that would put me in bed for the majority of the next day.  Luckily, Zawadi was extremely sweet to a foreign stranger she had just met.  She cooked every meal for me during my visit, in spite of the fact that I was too weak for conversation during most of the meals.  I missed the opportunity to enter the classrooms on my first full day at Kainam, but I was glad to begin forming a relationship with my neighbor.  The last morning at site, I was feeling well enough to work.  Due to rain and mud, I had a bit more time than I anticipated that morning before departing from Kainan.  I was able to discuss my goals with the teachers, as well as set my schedule for teaching.  I would be the only full-time science teacher at Kainam.  Right now, there is no Physics or Chemistry teacher, and I agreed to take over these responsibilities for all four of the Forms.  At the moment, there is an advanced-level student who is teaching Biology for all the Forms, and I would be expected to take over his duties in a month or so.  I also had the opportunity to visit the “local laboratory” at Kainam.  Because of scarcity of resources, most schools in Tanzania lack the necessary equipment and materials to teach a comprehensive science education.  However, because of trainings from Peace Corps, I was fairly optimistic about my ability to create experiments from locally-available and inexpensive resources.

The rains of the morning gradually seeped into the thick red mud, and I was able to make my way out of the village.  Although the Peace Corps prohibits the use of motorcycles worldwide, riding on the back of a “piki-piki,” or motorcycle, was the only way to reach our isolated school.  I hopped on the back of a motorcycle, and enjoyed the crisp fall air as we raced past a landscape of green fields peppered with farmers tending the crops.

We have now returned back to Korogwe to finish our final language and technical exams.  After a few days in Korogwe, I have both bad and good news.  The bad news is, I will be removed from my site.  Kainam Rhotia will have no science teacher for now, and maybe not for the next few years.  That means that every student in the village will not be able to create an egg-drop apparatus in Physics class, will not be able to learn about their own ecosystem in Biology class, and will not learn that many chemistry experiments can be performed with materials found at their local corner shop.  I will not be able to teach at Kainam Rhotia because I cannot get to the school without riding a piki-piki.  I was honest with Peace Corps staff upon my arrival in Korogwe about my need to ride on a motorcycle, and I hoped they would work for a solution.  The only forseeable solution is to transfer me to a different site.

My living room at Kainam Rhotia - fully furnished!

The school grounds at Kainam Rhotia

The details are still falling into place, but one week from today I will be on my way to my new home on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro.  My school is a private Lutheran secondary school called Uroki Secondary School.  The school has about 400 students, and is in desperate need of a Biology teacher.  While I am surprised by the turn of events, I look forward to meeting the challenge of acclimating to a new site. I was initially glum to leave my wonderful, small village in Kainam, but I have the opportunity to live through the excitement of seeing another new home.  My original placement was filled with many “zawadi,” or gifts – one of which was my incredibly sweet counterpart teacher who lived up to her name.  However, I look forward to feeling equally welcome in my new home and following other plans that God has made for me.